In the current troubled times, with a double dip recession hanging over us, and no real recovery in sight, many people are trying to find new and innovative ways to supplement their incomes. However, given the widespread nervousness about job instability, there is a certain pressure to make sure that any second income earning does not affect performance at work. The perfect solution to this dilemma is to set up some form of second income, as this is the type of earning that can be established and then left to basically run itself with little maintenance. Sound pretty fantastic? Here are some supplemental income ideas to get you started, they’ll all take some work to get setup (and some require an upfront investment) but once they’re up and running will provide a regular income passively.

1. Make money from your photos – and sell them to stock photography websites. If you have a bit of a penchant for taking snaps and you’ve ended up with lots of random images then this can be a great way to make money from what you’ve already done with very little outgoing. All you have to do is upload your photos to the stock photography website and then every time one of your images is downloaded you will get a percentage of the purchase price.

2. Auction off your unwanted stuff – because as they say ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ Whilst you will have to set up the online auction, after that your role becomes pretty passive, as all you need to do is sit back and watch the bids roll in.

3. Write about what you do – and create a following for your adventures with a blog. Blogging can lead to all sorts of opportunities, from making money through companies placing adverts on your blog, to eventual book deals and magazine contracts if you’re really lucky.

4. Become a landlord. Ok so you need to have a property to be able to do this, but once you’ve got a suitable house then all you need to do is bring in a letting agent to find the tenants and manage the property and you’ve got the perfect passive income, where you can sit back and watch the cash roll in. Being a landlord is a particularly lucrative way to make money given the current high rents all over the UK.

5. Create an app. This is the latest – and definitely one of the most lucrative – forms of passive income and if you happen to hit on an app that becomes popular it can really be a goldmine. If you don’t know how to create the app yourself then get someone to do it for you, upload it to the app store and then wait for the downloads to begin and the money to start falling into your lap.

6. Affiliate Marketing. This is an opportunity that is open to anyone with a website or blog that has a decent number of followers. Basically, if anyone buys an item from the company whose product you are marketing via your website or blog (through your unique tracking link) then you get a percentage of the sale price without even having to lift a finger.

7. Invest. Probably the oldest way to establish a passive income is to ‘speculate to accumulate’ with the money that you already have. If you’re not used to making investments then it’s a good idea to take some professional advice or start with some relatively safe bets like Government bonds. Once you’ve made your investment – as long as the markets go the right way – you should be able to just rake in the profits.

With these supplemental income earning ideas, you don’t have to make do with your current income and you can bring in a bit more cash to help you afford all those little extras. A recession can be a time for some people to really thrive so get creative and make sure you’re one of them.

Alternatively, to get ahead in your real job check out some of the great careers available on Gatwick Diamond Jobs – who provided this guest post.